What is the best and least expensive way to trademark and patent your business IP internationally?

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I am working on a start-up company to grow to become a big company to compete against some well known, popular, and in some ways powerful companies in the respective industries and markets today. I think in order for me to have a chance, I must start off with protecting my intellectual properties including other ideas. The required capital will be more than typical; my question really is should I add this to the amount of needed start-up capital? Or is there others ways to do this? Keep in mind, that this possibly can be a turn off for a number of VC's due to the amount of needed capital.

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1 Answer

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my question really is should I add this to the amount of needed start-up capital?

Most definitely! Regardless of whether you plan to self fund your business venture, or look for outside investors, you will need to take this amount of money into consideration. Otherwise, you are doing yourself a disservice. It will be more of a turn off if you don't include this in your required startup capital, because it'll make it look like you have not thought everything through.

Keep in mind, that this possibly can be a turn off for a number of VC's due to the amount of needed capital.

How much money are we talking about here? I think that there is a big misconception that the smaller the dollar amount you request from a VC, the better. However, this is not the case. Don't waste your time trying to get VC funding if you are looking for less than a few million dollars. VC's are looking to invest in fast growth companies, and for fast growth, you need lots and lots of capital. I think you'll be hard pressed to find a VC willing to invest less than 5 million dollars.

If you are looking for something like $10M in investment, the $100K it's going to cost to get an international patent and trademark is negligible, so it won't turn off the VC one bit. If on the other hand, you only need about a $500K investment, I suggest you look for Angel funding instead.

Thanks for responding, I have been thinking of various strategies for my business to have a great start-up point and have a great chance in the respective industries and markets I am going to be doing business in. I must ask, out of all the VC Groups in the world today, how many of them wouldn't be willing to invest less than 5 million dollars? And if most wouldn't, how challenging is it to find a VC Group that would invest in a start-up technology company with required funding's of around the 5 - 10 million range.
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User57328 years ago

@user5732: I would say that the vast majority of VCs would not be willing to invest less than 5 million. It's unfortunate, but that's the way most of them work. If you are looking at the 10 million range, you are in much better shape. You may need to ask for more money than you actually need to get their attention. Take the money and put it towards marketing, hiring employees, creating a super awesome website, and anything else that will speed up your launch, and eventual exit. Just make sure you have a plan for all the money, don't just ask for tons of money with no plan.
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Zuly Gonzalez8 years ago

@user5732: (Cont.) Also, keep in mind that you won't get the entire sum up front. Say they are willing to invest 10 million in your company, you may only get 2 million the first year. If things go well, you'll get more. If things go bad, they may not invest in your company in the following years. Btw, I've never personally tried to get VC funding, so please do your own research. Best of luck to you!
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Zuly Gonzalez8 years ago